I've been inspired to write this post because I've gotten some feedback from people that they "cannot afford me". What they are saying is "I will not spend $60.00 on myself to make myself feel better in my body." What happens when you don't feel good in your body? Pain. Chronic Pain. Stress. Chronic Stress. These things lead to dis-ease.

Now what is $60.00 to the average person?

A couple of tanks of gas.

Groceries for the week.

Cell phone bill. Maybe.

Cable bill.

Dinner date.

Your daily coffee run for the month.

Some new clothes.

A trip to Target (that might just be me)

What is $60.00 in medical/health expenses to the average person?

Half of a bi-yearly dental cleaning.

A portion of an eye-care visit

Two or three co-pays for doctor visits

Pretty much meaningless when it comes to long term care, major medical problems, a hospital stay, or an ER visit.

Yes. I believe what I do should be part of your health and wellness program. It is not comparable to a shopping trip or a night out with your friends. Massage therapy is preventative medicine. The massage work I do impacts your body on a cellular level, affecting all systems of the body. This is a highly valuable service that is definitely not offered in western healthcare or at your favorite store.

I have repeat clients whom visit me monthly for integrative therapeutic massage. The feedback I've been receiving is phenomenal. The general consensus is: Massage therapy vastly improves your mind, body, spirit experiences. People have reported that things that have bothered them for years are no longer happening and that their bodies have less aches and tension. There have also been mental, emotional, and spiritual breakthroughs. My approach to massage therapy makes my clients have a better sense of self awareness, more contentment, and less stress and pain overall.

If you are one of those people that cannot find a place in your budget for massage therapy, even though you obviously need it, you may want to give what I've written some more thought. Your body houses everything that makes it possible for you to do anything with your life in this world. Take care of your body- mind and spirit will be grateful and follow.

I have decided to do an experiment with a client of mine. She is going to receive one massage on a monthly basis and write about her thoughts and emotions surrounding her experiences. My aim is to explore the mind-body connection and how massage impacts a person's overall well-being. This is not a scientific endeavor, but rather a journey that offers insight into how massage therapy can play an integral part in an individual's personal wellness program.

Client A writes about Session 3:

We are only three months into this experiment and I am already starting to notice the long-term health and ethereal benefits. These monthly massages have made me far more aware of my body. I had no idea, for example, that I am constantly clenching my gluteal muscles. The result? A big ‘ol pain in the butt. Literally. My gluteal muscles and the other muscles that have attachments at my hips have been wound up for years. The tightness and pain in these areas has prevented me from even attempting some of the stretches and yoga poses that are supposed to open them up.

After only two months of consistent massages, I notice many parts of my anatomy that have been a problem areas in the past are no longer as intense. Because of this, Kate was able to really concentrate on helping me let go of the chronic tension in my hips and glutes during this session.

If you are interested in chakras like I am, the low back, hips, and gluteal regions are connected to the root and sacral chakra. The root chakra is associated with feelings of security, stability, fear/ trust, and safety. The sacral chakra is associated with relationships, intimacy, sexuality and sensuality. Whether you subscribe to the idea of chakras or not, it’s good to know that massage can be a deeply emotional thing. It loosens up areas that you have been holding tension in for a long time, because of something either physical or emotional. It only makes sense that letting go could be an emotional or spiritual experience as well.

My mind is extremely visual, so most massages elicit some images for me. This particular massage was a highly visual experience for me. Upon first touch, my gluteal muscles felt dead. They were very tender, and the only thing I saw was black coldness. As Kate worked out the tension, I began to see a dormant secret garden. By the end of the massage, I saw flowers blossoming before my eyes. Flowers are a very special metaphor for me, so this evolution of images made perfect sense to me. At the end, a very clear voice came into my mind that said, “I can share this with whomever I choose,” referring to the garden, which is now coming to life. Massage Therapist Comment: It was during this portion of the session that I began to have an empathic experience. I can sense emotions held in the muscle tissue, and I let the client know what emotions were coming forth, to which she responded by telling me about her visual imagery. It was great to collaborate with the client this way.Here are some other things I saw and which part of the body was associated with the image:

An orange fiery light being turned on (mid back)A woman on a farmhouse porch in the 1800’s (mid/lower back)A very sensual peacock pattern with gold and deep, muted blues and greens (lower back)A brown doormat with gnomes peeking out (at the top of my bottom)A spot of dark navy blue sadness (same spot on both sides of my bottom)Yellow, hot pink, gold (bottom and upper thighs)A yellow monochromatic scene with a yellow balloon rising (where my bottom meets my leg)Translucent red (hips)A wood paneled law office (my neck)Follow up: I waited a few days before submitting this post because so many great things happened during this massage and I wanted to see how my body would respond. I feel much more integrated. It seems like the dust of my body and mind are settling together. Some of it’s even getting swept away.

A note from the Massage Therapist:

All of the work I do can be defined as energy work. However, I did specific energy work at the end of our session that I do not typically do for every client. I have stayed away from it because I want to be taken seriously and viewed as a knowledgeable and professional massage therapist, not a quack. That being said, I do see things in my mind's eye when I work on clients. I keep this information to myself, just as I would keep someone's health records private. I'm not sure which people are open to hearing about what I've seen as I worked on them.

This session was great. The client was very open to receiving energy work and what I saw for her chakras were colorful flowers blossoming, mixed with light and dark light. It appears that I have a knack for seeing people's chakras. I didn't realize this until recently. With more practice, it will occur more readily. Perhaps we can do a complete energy work session with a focus on balancing the chakras.